Gold Coast Marathon 2013 Results: Men's and Women's Top Finishers

The 35th annual Gold Coast Airport Marathon concluded July 6 in Australia, with Japan taking first in both the men's and women's races.

Yuki Kawauchi took gold on the men's side and Yukiko Akaba in the women's race. Richard Nicholson took home the other marathon gold medal, winning the wheelchair race.

Kawauchi finished with a time of 2:10:02, setting a new Gold Coast course record. He finished just nine seconds ahead of the previous men's record of 2:10:11 set by Brad Camp in 1989.

The marathon's official Twitter account tweeted a picture of Kawauchi at the finish line before his time was revised:

Kawauchi explained his game plan throughout the race to Mackenzie Ravn of the Gold Coast Bulletin News.

"I actually pushed myself to the limit, I just had to keep on pushing," he told Ravn.

Finishing second was Taiga Ito at a time of 2:11:49. Tewelde Hidru took the bronze medal with a time of 2:13:09.

Not to be outdone by Kawauchi, Akaba also finished the course in a record time for women (revised) at 2:27:15. She beat the previous women's record by almost three minutes. The Gold Coast Marathon Twitter account tweeted out her elated reaction:

Akaba actually caught sight of Kawauchi at one point during the race. She told Emma Greenwood of the Gold Coast Bulletin News that gave her a boost, saying: "At the [northern] turning point, I actually saw him coming through, so I knew that he had made it. That gave me encouragement to get going."

Alice Ngerechi finished less than two minutes after Akaba with a time of 2:29:48. Just over two minutes behind Ngerechi was Alevtina Ivanova with a time of 2:31:58, good for third place.

In the wheelchair race, Nicholson finished with a time of 1:45:20. The official Gold Coast Marathon Twitter account picture shows no other racer was in sight when Nicholson finished:

Bill Chaffey finished second with a time of 1:49:37. Rob Paterson finished in third almost 20 minutes after Nicholson at 2:12:26.